From his smooth, razor-sharp verses with Slum Village, Elzhi quickly established himself as an MC in the realest sense (and think about how many MCs can be smooth and razor-sharp at the same time – I’ll wait). Whether he’s dropping game to a lady or reminding you why his wit and wordplay is in another realm, Elzhi’s stayed Elzhi as he transitioned away from Slum to establish himself as a solo artist. When he reinvented Nas’s classic Illmatic as Elmatic, Elzhi proved to still be on the innovative tip, as he not only flipped songs that would be frightening to most, but he added a live band just to show off a little.

In 2016, Elzhi is still that same dude. Bars for days with that smooth-like-butter flow, but the artistic growth continues. With Lead Poison, an album that unfortunately took on a double-meaning once the Flint water crisis hit, Elzhi is an open book. From his battles with depression to his love life, nothing is off limits in what is his most personal album to date. I caught up with the Detroit legend to talk about the album, mental health and hip-hop, and much more.

When J Dilla suddenly passed away in 2006, at the tender age of 32, from cardiac arrest, the hip-hop community lost one of the greatest producers of all-time. That year Jay Dee left hip-hop one of the finest collections of instrumentals in Donuts. What made Donuts so special, besides it being released three days before J Dilla’s passing, was that it feels like such an intensely personal statement. Since its release, many have went on to use the instrumentals from Donuts (including Ghostface, Drake, Charles Hamilton, Skyzoo, and Talib Kweli). Now Nas is finally sharing his collaboration with Jay Dee as he raps over the “Gobstopper” beat. Listen after the jump!

It’s been 25 Years since our “Three Feet High” release. We have a lot great memories and an incredible journey. Amazingly enough, our fans stuck around, supported and still want more. Ok, but before you get that, here’s a little De La over Dilla Beats.

Enjoy and look out for the new mixtape “Smell The DA.I.S.Y.” all beats by J Dilla. Peace… and in advance, You’re Welcome.

Proof passed away 7 years ago and Shady Records’ Paul Rosenberg lets loose this collab with J. Dilla. Here’s what he has to say about the track:

Very hard to believe, but it has been 7 long years since we lost Big Proof. Again, to celebrate his life and share his art with the world, I’ve unearthed another lost track from P and J. Dilla called “Keep It on the Low”. The track was produced by Dilla and that’s also him on the chorus. Forgive the sound quality but as I’ve said before these are ripped from cassette dubs and it’s the best that I have. I’m pretty sure the track is from 1994, when Proof and J were working on their Funky Cowboys side-project. What can I say? The world just isn’t as enjoyable nor the same without you guys. Rest in peace.

In this episode of Crate Diggers, Fuse celebrates legendary producer J Dilla, who has worked with The Roots, Common, Erykah Badu, Janet Jackson and A Tribe Called Quest. They then we join musician friends J. Rocc, DJ Spinna, Frank Nitt and Grap Luva in Detroit to open Dilla’s storage locker, which has remained untouched since his death.